Safety razor



' Jan. 19, 1937. r I 'w p GRATH 2,068,380

SAFETY RAZOR Filed April 15, 1955 I INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY.

Patented Jan. 19, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT, OFFICE 7 Claim.

This invention is a safety razor and has for its object to provide a simple and inexpensive structure having a guard and a blade-clamping frame and adapted for convenient adjustment of the guard relative to the blade.

More particularly it is the object of the invention to provide guides on the blade-clamping frame, and to provide supporting rods at the ends of the guard adapted for slidingreception in the guides, with adjusting means cooperatingwith the respective supporting means for adjusting the guard relative to the blade.

Further objects of theinvention will be readily understood from the following description of the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the invention.

Fig. 2 is a front elevation.

Fig. 3 is a top plan view, showing the blade partly disengaged from its clamping frame.

Fig. 4 is a transverse section on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3.

A frame supports a blade A so that the blade is firmly clamped to the frame but may be readily removed when desired; and the frame is preferably adapted to receive a blade of that type which is hollow-ground and has a relatively heavy back A For this purpose the frame comprises a strip I upon which the bladeis adapted to rest so as to project forwardly beyond the supporting strip, and at its rear edge the supporting strip has a clamping lip 2, preferably integral with the strip I and curving upwardly and then forwardly so as to overlie the supporting strip in spaced relation therefrom, whereby the blade A may be securely clamped between the support I and the clamp 2 as shown at Fig. 1, but may be readily removed by transversely shifting the blade as shown at Fig. 3.

A handle 3 is connected to the frame I; and a guard is provided for the blade and is adjustable relative to the frame I so as to adjust the guard relative to the cutting edge A of the blade which is clamped on the frame.

As an instance of this arrangement the guard may comprise a rod 4 having its ends bent rearwardly to form supporting rods 5, and guides depend from the respective sides of the frame I and are adapted to receive the respective supporting rods. The guides may comprise strips 6, 50 preferably integral with the sides of strip I and bent downwardly at right angles thereto as shown at Fig. 4 and terminating in bearing loops I for the supporting rods 5. The axes of bearing loops I are so inclined that when rods 5 are shifted therein the guard 4 is moved back and forth in a plane parallel to the cutting portion of blade A as shown at Fig. 1, and at their forward ends the rods 5 may be bent upwardly as shown at 5 so as to position the rod 4 immediately beneath the cutting edge of the blade so 5 as to form an adequate guard. The guard rod 4 is preferably simply a straight rod as illustrated, although any usual type of toothed guard element might be employed.

By shifting the pair of supporting rods 5 the same distance in their guide loops I the guard 4 is maintained parallel to cutting edge A and may be nicely adjusted relative thereto; and means are provided for equally shifting the pair of supporting rods and releasably retaining the same in adjusted position. For this purpose the rods 5 may be threaded cylindrical rods, and adjusting nuts may cooperate with the threaded rods. In the illustrated embodiment a nut 8 is threaded onto each rod 1 and the nuts are mounted in slots 9 which extend across the guide loops I into their strips 6, intermediate of the ends of the strips, whereby the walls of the slots form thrust bearings for the nuts holding them against axial displacement so that when the nuts are turned the rods 5 are moved back and forth to adjust the guard 4.

The guide bearings which are formed by the loops I engage the rods 5 along appreciable lengthe of the rods whereby these hearings alone support the rods so as to prevent such play as might otherwise allow excessive variation in the space between the cutting edge A of the blade and its underlying guard 4; and for this purpose the strips 6, and the loops I which are formed thereby and which engage the rods 5 along the full length of said loops, are preferably of a length equal to the distance between the front and rear edges of the strip I, and with relation to the blade A which is adapted for mounting on the strip I, this distance is preferably a major portion of the dimension of the blade transverse to its cutting edge, i. e. between its heavy back A and its cutting edge A thereby insuring the guide loops I having a substantial length. This appreciable length of the guide loops also permits the slots 9 which are formed therein being of appreciable size for reception of nuts 8 of convenient longitudinal dimension, without unduly weakening the guide loops.

The rods 5 are preferably oppositely threaded, i. e. they have a right-hand and a left-hand thread respectively, so that by turning the nuts 8 in opposite directions, e. g. by engaging one nut by the thumb and the other nut by the fore- 55 finger of the same hand, the rods 5 may be shifted in the same direction and to the same degree. The nuts 8 are preferably knurled so that they may be readily turned, and are of a size whereby they project laterally beyond the guide strips 6 a sufiicient distance to make their knurled surfaces readily accessible.

The invention thus provides a safety razor of simple construction, with the blade securely clamped to a supporting frame and the guard conveniently adjustable relative to the clamped blade.

I claim:

1. In a safety razor, a frame adapted to support a blade, a guard having supports at its ends extending at right-angles to the length of the guard, guides on the frame adapted for sliding reception of the supports so as to mount the guard parallel to the cutting edge of the blade, the supports being oppositely threaded, and nuts threaded on the respective supports and cooperating with the respective guides for longitudinally adjusting the supports in unison relative to their guides by oppositely rotating the nuts.

2. In a safety razor, a frame adapted to support a blade with the cutting edge of the blade in advance of the front edge of the frame, the frame having downwardly bent strips at its sides curved at their lower edges to form guide loops, the guide loops being of a length substantially equal to the dimension of the frame between its front and rear edges and having axes parallel to the plane of the cutting edge portion of the blade which is supported by the frame, a rod forming a guard extending the length of the cutting edge of the blade and having downwardly bent portions integral therewith at the ends of its guard portion, with said downwardly bent portions of the rod having rearwardly bent end portions integral therewith and comprising cylindrical supporting rods adapted for sliding reception in the guide loops of the frame, the downwardly bent strips of the frame and their guard loops having slots therein, the cylindrical supporting rods being oppositely threaded, and nuts threaded on the supporting rods and received in the slots for abutment against the front and rear walls thereof for adjusting the guard relative to the cutting edge of the blade by oppositely rotating the nuts.

3. In a safety razor, a frame adapted to support a blade, guide loops on the frame, a guard having rearwardly extending cylindrical supports at its ends adapted for sliding reception in the guide loops so that the guard underlies the cutting edge of the blade, the cylindrical supports being threaded, the guide loops being transversely slotted, and nuts threaded onto the threaded supports and received in the slots and cooperating with the walls thereof for adjusting the guard relative to the blade.

4. In a safety razor, a frame for a blade, a guide on the frame, a guard for the blade having a support slidable in the guide, the support having a threaded portion, the guide being slotted, and a nut threaded on the support and received in the slot and cooperating with the walls thereof for adjusting the guard relative to the blade.

5. In a safety razor, a frame for a blade comprising an integral plate forming a supporting surface for a blade and having an upwardly and then forwardly bent rear portion forming a clamping clip for the blade and having downwardly bent strips at its sides curved at their lower ends to form guide loops of appreciable length, a guard for the blade having supports slidable in the guide loops, and means for adjusting the supports along the guide loops.

6. In a safety razor, a frame for a blade comprising an integral plate forming a supporting surface for a blade and having an upwardly and then forwardly bent rear portion forming a clamping clip for the blade and having downwardly bent strips at'its sides curved at their lower ends to form guide loops of appreciable length, a guard for the blade having supports slidable in the guide loops, the guide loops engaging the supports along a length thereof substantially equal to the dimension of the frame between its front and rear edges, and means for adjusting the supports along the guide loops.

7. In a safety razor, a frame for a blade, guides on the frame, a guard for the blade comprising a rod having integral downwardly bent end portions terminating in rearwardly bent integral portions forming supports slidable in the guides, the supports having threaded portions, and nuts threaded on the supports and cooperating with the guides for adjusting the guard relative to the blade.

WALTER. P. GRATH. 

